1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of motor-driven sun protection installations, and in particular to the field of sliding curtains. Such a curtain is generally fastened to a set of a plurality of slides mounted to move along a rail. A first slide is fastened to a carriage driven in the rail via a belt or a cord under the action of an actuator. The movement of the first slide entrains the movement of the following slides, either via the curtain itself, or via cords that connect each slide to the following slide.
2. Related Art
Motor-driven curtains are in common use in hotel rooms or in conference centers, i.e. where users are merely passing through and are unused to how such curtains operate. Such installations must be discreet, as out of sight as possible, and not too noisy, while also being protected in the event that the curtain is operated manually by an uninformed user.
The actuator described in Document U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,592 has a longitudinal box that is perpendicular to the rail supporting the curtain that is to be operated. When an outlet shaft of the actuator is moved in rotation, it drives a belt of the curtain installation in rotation via a clutch. The clutch makes manual control possible when the motor is off and when the curtain is decoupled from the motor.
When the actuator is mounted perpendicularly to the rail, it is usually placed below the rail, so as to be masked, at least partially, by a side edge of the curtain. The motor, the gearbox and the clutch are situated towards the top end of the box, while the power supply and control device for powering and controlling the motor is situated towards the bottom end. The motor is powered via the control device which transmits power to the motor, possibly after transformation, e.g. 24 volt DC low-voltage power, together with a command.
For most installations, a power cable must therefore be connected to the box of the actuator on the same side as the power supply and control device. In the example in Document U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,592, a power first cable arrives towards the bottom of the box, and a control second cable exits from the box on a side face thereof and rises towards a detection element placed at the end of the rail. The connection of the power cable to the box is sometimes grouped together with an adjustment interface that is situated either at the bottom of the box, or on a side face. In any event, the cable can easily be disconnected inadvertently by an uninformed user, insofar as access to the cable, like access to the adjustment interface, is left free. In addition, the manner in which the motor is disposed relative to the control device often constrains the power cable to run along the box, since the mains power terminal is generally situated in a false ceiling.
In addition, WO2004/011759 discloses providing a guide groove for guiding a cable in a cradle for mounting a motor-and-gearbox unit in a rail. The cable remains visible and accessible over most of its length, which is acceptable for a motor-and-gearbox unit mounted in a rail, but is inappropriate for a curtain actuator that is mounted like the actuator of U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,592.